Seamless implementation of a Services Procurement programme cannot happen without the client’s buy-in, and change management is necessary to build client trust.
Francis Ljubic, Global MSP Product Director
Research shows that when people are genuinely invested in change, they are 30% more likely to stick – our commitment to change management is essential for a smooth transition and impactful delivery.
Having the right partner in place to guide a pre-designed change management strategy is vital. Risk is mitigated, and desired outcomes are achieved.
Instilling change in service transition
Laura Hendriks-Zeller, Global Implementation Change Management & Training Manager
By effectively managing change, we take our clients on a journey. Methodical and time-tested change management practice helps our clients progress from implementation to steady-state and prepares them for future enhancements.
Client buy-in often becomes a roadblock when unexplained changes are imposed on the impacted stakeholders. Under the management of a Services Procurement programme, this can lead to them circumventing the established rules of engagement, which may result in inefficiencies, lack of visibility, and compliance risks. If the right people are not on board with new processes, it’s challenging to execute the end-to-end delivery, reach new productivity goals, achieve peak performance and realise cost savings.
So what’s the secret to managing change effectively when implementing a Services Procurement programme?
It is crucial to start a dialogue with the key stakeholders, hiring managers and procurement teams to determine the current state. We want to see the complete picture, including what works well and where we can improve. Rather than launching into a service provider monologue, we listen to our client’s requirements and idea-share to build a solution that incorporates their specific needs. We always come to the table with a gold-standard service blueprint, but our client’s input is required to tailor our best practices. Through this, we co-design the future solution. Being completely open to feedback and ready to answer questions, including the difficult ones, is critical.
Training sessions, organised during the implementation and before the programme launch, are designed to educate hiring managers on the new technology and processes. Providing knowledge and insight into the programme and planned changes is an excellent way of driving adoption. Following this approach for one of our Financial Services clients helped us gain buy-in and solidify the programme from the start. Client implementation champions can take this a step further and instil confidence across the business, as peer-to-peer recommendation delivers a huge impact.
While we always put our client’s interests at the core, it is essential to remember the effect of change on people’s daily jobs – all change requires an adjustment and, more often than not, a shift outside of a comfort zone. For our service to run smoothly, the impacted individuals must be equipped with the requisite knowledge to understand what will change and the future-state benefits for both themselves and the business.
Sustaining change after implementation
Once the Services Procurement programme is implemented, the question remains how to continue developing trust and maintain long-term delivery success. We can have the best change management strategy delivered during the implementation, including impact and readiness assessments; however, the aim is for the change to result in long-term adoption across the client organisation.
This is where the change sustainability plan becomes necessary and is central to a successful Service Procurement delivery. With a long-term strategy in place, we can work with the client to reinforce the programme’s benefits, drive value-add and ensure continuous participation.
Reimagining value for the client
Conventionally, Procurement teams have been perceived as cost reduction functions. Consequently, Services Procurement programmes’ focus may be considered as delivering on these savings.
However, there is much more to a well-established Services Procurement function than just reducing costs. The ideal outcome is to drive the value for the clients – to deliver a service that is not just cheaper but better. The right partner can reimagine the value of your Services Procurement programme, starting with expertly executing a change management strategy. A fully functional programme cannot flourish without a change plan geared at seamless adoption.
Redesigning operations, discovering misclassified spend, and reducing co-employment risk are only part of the success. It is equally important to educate client stakeholders on what we are trying to achieve and what benefits they can expect in the long run, turning them into change promoters.
